Signal transduction is any process by which a cell converts one kind of signal or stimulus into another. Signal transduction processes often involve a sequence of biochemical reactions inside the cell, which are carried out by enzymes and linked through second messengers. In many transduction processes, an increasing number of enzymes and other molecules become engaged in the events that proceed from the initial stimulus. In such cases the chain of steps is referred to as a “signaling cascade” or a “second messenger pathway” and often results in a small stimulus eliciting a large response. One class of molecules involved in signal transduction is the kinase family of enzymes. The largest group of kinases is protein kinases, which act on and modify the activity of specific proteins. These are used extensively to transmit signals and control complex processes in cells.
Protein kinases are a large class of enzymes which catalyze the transfer of the α-phosphate from ATP to the hydroxyl group on the side chain of Ser/Thr or Tyr in proteins and peptides and are intimately involved in the control of various important cell functions, perhaps most notably: growth, proliferation, differentiation, survival, adhesion, migration. There are estimated to be about 2,000 distinct protein kinases in the human body, and although each of these phosphorylate particular protein/peptide substrates, they all bind the same second substrate, ATP, in a highly conserved pocket. Protein phosphatases catalyze the transfer of phosphate in the opposite direction.
A tyrosine kinase is an enzyme that can transfer a phosphate group from ATP to a tyrosine residue in a protein. Phosphorylation of proteins by kinases is an important mechanism in signal transduction for regulation of enzyme activity. The tyrosine kinases are divided into two groups; those that are cytoplasmic proteins and the transmembrane receptor-linked kinases. In humans, there are 32 cytoplasmic protein tyrosine kinases and 58 receptor-linked protein-tyrosine kinases. The hormones and growth factors that act on cell surface tyrosine kinase-linked receptors are generally growth-promoting and function to stimulate cell division (e.g., insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1, epidermal growth factor).
Inhibitors of various known protein kinases or protein phosphatases have a variety of therapeutic applications. One promising potential therapeutic use for protein kinase or protein phosphatase inhibitors is as anti-cancer agents. About 50% of the known oncogene products are protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) and their kinase activity has been shown to lead to cell transformation.
Because kinases are involved in the regulation of a wide variety of normal cellular signal transduction pathways (e.g., cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, survival, adhesion, migration, etc.), kinases are thought to play a role in a variety of diseases and disorders. Thus, modulation of kinase signaling cascades may be an important way to treat or prevent such diseases and disorders.